NHS says Pay by Results program improving data quality

The National Health Services (NHS) recently released a report showing the data for its Pay by Results program is improving, but still requires some work.

The information is used to determine healthcare providers' payments in a more justifiable method that considers the amount of work they actually perform. On top of that, it rewards those who improve their practices through increased efficiency, treatments, competition and patient choice, according to the Right Data, Right Payment report.

"We have found the overall picture to be one of gradually improving quality and accuracy," said Audit Commission Managing Director of Health Andy McKeon. "But health service providers can still do more to improve data quality. It was disappointing that only a half of trusts had made good progress in implementing previous audit recommendations."

The report is based on audits of the key data sets and inpatient clinical coding that are factored into the payments earned through the program. McKeon points out that the Pay by Results program will only work if the data being collected is accurate and verified. This is good news for the initiative, given that error rates have been declining and clinical coding has improved, according to the Information Daily.